Benign prostate hypertrophy, also known as benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) commonly afflicts men beginning at age 50. The prostate swells and presses on the urethra, making urination difficult and uncomfortable. In addition, it may cause urination urgency. Also afflicting older men is prostate cancer which may metastasize and cause death. Early treatment can reduce the risks of death from prostate cancer.
Both prostate enlargement and prostate cancer may be treated with heat treatments such as hyperthermia or thermotherapy. As described in co-pending U.S. app. Ser. No. 08/629,650, filed Apr. 9, 1996, a stent may serve the dual purpose of acting as a heat source for the thermotherapy procedures, as well as acting to hold the urethra open after therapy to temporarily prevent blockage due to swelling and prostate tissue sloughing. Additionally, a stent may be implanted temporarily while the patient awaits more aggressive surgery or treatment. Rather than implantation after thermotherapy, a stent may be implanted temporarily after cryosurgery or hypothermia. Finally, a stent may be implanted as a primary treatment.
Given the number of therapies employing urethral stents, there is a need in the art for improved stent delivery systems. Eum, U.S. app. Ser. No. 09/063,118, filed Apr. 20, 1998, and incorporated herein by reference, discloses a stent delivery system comprising a catheter with an anchoring mechanism at its distal end that is placed within the bladder. The stent is displaced proximally on the catheter a predetermined distance from the anchor. This ensures that the stent does not affect the bladder sphincter. Placement of a stent within the bladder sphincter could lead to incontinence and other problems. Because the anchoring mechanism must be placed within the bladder, such a stent delivery system requires a flexible endoscope. Many doctors, however, are equipped only with standard rigid urological endoscopes, which cannot maneuver through the prostatic urethra into the bladder. Thus, there is a need in the art for improved stent delivery systems that can accurately and conveniently implant a stent in the prostatic urethra using conventional rigid urological endoscopes.